The Washington Stand.
On Pentecost Sunday in Abuja, Nigeria, four gunmen stormed a Catholic Church during mass, massacring at least 50 worshippers in one of the most brutal rampages of the year. As word of the attack spread, so too did outrage that the violence in this African nation continues on.
While Christians have been routinely targeted by Nigeria’s Islamic extremists, this latest slaughter — in the country’s relatively peaceful southwest — is sounding new alarms. “It is a black Sunday in Owo,” Ondo’s governor, Arakunrin Akeredolu, said, condemning a “vile and satanic attack” against people “who have enjoyed relative peace over the years.”
Just a handful of days earlier, black-clad extremists wielding AK-47s reportedly opened fire as believers left an evening service in Nigeria’s Adu Village, leaving three — including a young girl — “seriously injured,” locals confirmed. Islamic extremists are “hunting and killing us on a daily basis,” often “intimidating us by displacing us through burning of our houses and properties, and destroying our farms,” one individual told International Christian Concern.
News of both shootings coincided with the publication of the 2021 Report on International Religious Freedom.
“I’m still upset about last year’s removal of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern,” said Sam Brownback, former ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom under President Donald Trump, before Sunday’s tragedy. “That was not called for. The situation continues to be terrible, and that’s shown forth, as well, in the report.”
The State Department records 1,112 conflict-related deaths in Nigeria in 2021, many of them clashes between religious groups. “In May, criminals shot and killed eight Christians and burned down a church and several homes in Kaduna State,” the report states. On September 26-27, “Muslim herders killed at least 49 persons and abducted 27, most of whom were Christian, in several attacks on communities in religiously mixed southern Kaduna State.” The report also cites “several cases” of “Muslim men kidnapping young Christian girls and forcing them into marriage and conversion to Islam.”
Many familiar with the situation expressed disbelief that the Biden administration had removed the 211-million-strong nation from its circle of concern. Family Research Council’s Lela Gilbert, senior fellow for International Religious Freedom, has been appalled at the lack of urgency from Nigeria’s president and other world leaders.
Oh stop it. Just stop it once and for all.
Stop this notion that there is such a thing as the world police. This entire awful situation is due to Christians misunderstanding the Scriptures and ascribing to Christ things He didn’t say and positions He doesn’t hold.
The answer is to pick up a gun and go to war against the Muslims. Don’t ask for outside help. There will be none forthcoming.
Christian men are responsible for themselves, their families, and their communities. Provide for your own protection. Kill the intruders and terrorists. Protect your own.